Slot loading drive > stalling out...

MDLarson

MDLarson

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350 MHz slot-loading iMac running Mac OS 9.2.2. I just updated the firmware to 4.1.9 to install Mac OS X 10.3, but the CD-ROM drive appears to be flaking out on me.

I insert the disc, the drive spins up, the clock stops, the drive sounds like it's working, and it keeps working for up to 10 minutes or more before it finally updates on the screen. If I do any more with the disc, it drops into this mode again.

Do I have a faulty CD-ROM drive? I've seen slot-loading drives on eBay, I suppose I can get one and replace it.
 
I tried a few other CD-ROMs in the iMac. They seem to work just fine. What's puzzling me now is that I am using the trouble CD-ROM (Mac OS Install Disc 1) in a Mac OS X installation on an identical iMac as I write this.

I know everybody here is on the edge of their seats on this one, so I'll post back what I figure out. Anybody have any weird experiences with their OS X install discs?
 
How much memory do you have installed on your iMac?
Did you restart the iMac in OS 9 after installing the firmware?

Did you run Disk Utility before installing OS X? (at the installer screen, go to the installer menu and select Disk Utility)

It maybe that you have some dust curls hidden in that CD slot. Shut down the computer, unplug it, and use a can of air to blow out any dust.
 
Sorry I hadn't responded in a timlier fashion... The iMac in question has 320 MB of RAM. I did restart after updating the firmware. I did not run Disk Utility.

Anyway, I tried the same CD in my G3 400 MHz B&W (with upgraded Yamaha CRW2100EZ internal CD-ROM drive), and had similar results when trying to run the Mac OS X Install Disk 1. Real choppy performance, finally bogging down to zero activity.

Once while booted up on the Install CD, I clicked on the Disk Utility menu (I was in Disk Utility at the time) to try to open Startup Disk and give up, as it had appeared to stall out. Well, it would just sit there, and I tried ejecting the CD-ROM with the physical button on the CD-ROM drive... IT EJECTED!!! Keep in mind I was running the computer off this CD! I was able to restart using Command-Control-Power, and it booted up off the CD successfully again, and managed to get into the Startup Disk to get back to Mac OS 9.

Anyway, regarding the original iMac, I brought in my personal Panther CDs from home and tried installing using those... they worked fine.

I am 95% sure I have a bad install disc, so I tried calling up Apple and they said the vendor who supplied the Mac OS X Family Pack is responsible for a replacement. Our MacMall guy doesn't really know anything about it, so I am in limbo at the present moment.

QUESTION: Is there such a thing as a "bad burn" for mass-distributed CDs like this? The surface of this CD-ROM appears very normal, and remember I've had mixed results (success on one iMac, failure on an identical iMac). This is very weird to me.
 
Yes, there is such a thing as a bad burn. When I bought my flat panel, the CDs that came with it had a bad one and would not finish install. I demanded a new set and got it. This was from CompUSA.
 
Actually, no, there is no such thing as a bad burn on a mass-produced CD. Mass-produced CDs are not made the way we burn CDs at home -- they aren't even burned. They're pressed. The little pits and valleys in the CD material are actually pressed into the surface of the CD material, whereas burned CDs, like the ones we make at home, are made with a laser that changes the color, so to speak, of the CD material.

All in all, it's still possible to get a badly pressed mass-produced CD -- the retail 10.2 Jaguar disks were prime examples. Apple gave out refunds for a fairly large batch of Jaguar CDs that were faulty, mine included (but I didn't opt for the refund). If you looked really closely at the shiny back of the CD, there was a spot about the size of a dime that looked "out of place" or malformed, just noticeable if you knew what to look for. It didn't cause any problems for me -- I just made a really slow disk copy and it worked fine, both the copy and the original.

Any place you bought the CDs from should replace them (maybe even offer a refund, but that's not required by law -- only a replacement), but it may require some persuasion and possibly a showing of a slightly displeased attitude. Be polite and persistent!
 
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